Clipped Wings
by Regaime Seishi
Summary: She could tell that he was dying. “You fool! Why are you here?” “I regretted not seeing you. I needed to see you…one last time” “You could have visited me later!” “I knew I was…beyond saving. I had to apologize…for waiting until now” Uo/Kureno 1shot


Clipped Wings

When she found the bird lying dead outside of where she worked, Uotoni was surprised that it reminded her of Kureno-san and their first encounter. Mixed feelings filled her instantly: longing, anger, heartache, resentment—all those associated with lost love. She never heard her boss yelling at her to hurry and dispose of it; she was too caught up in the memory that it triggered.

Some errand or another had been on her mind—reorganizing the soup aisle or whatnot—when she had turned the corner and collided with a very tall, very _handsome_ man. Both had lost their balance and fell back, the man's groceries falling between them.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" Uo had gasped, pushing herself to her knees to help pick up the packages on the floor.

"No, it's my fault for being so clumsy," the man had assured her. He too began picking up the fallen bags. Soon there was one left and they both reached for it, trying to outdo the other in grabbing it first. The man's long fingers had brushed her own, sending a shiver up her arm and down her spine. She pulled away as if she'd been shocked and held the hand to her bosom, protecting it from further violation.

"Ah, um…so, wow, this is a lot of birdseed!" she had exclaimed, the need to draw attention away from her embarrassing reflect strong indeed. "You must really like birds."

The man looked surprised for a moment, then smiled. Uo was taken by how sad and…lonely that smile seemed.

"Yes, I suppose I do."

_Pull it together!_ Uo had chided herself, unable to prevent the deep blush that painted her cheeks a vibrant red. She had _never_ been this flustered by a man before and wondered just _what_ was wrong with her.

"Ah, but you know, I heard they like blueberries even better. We just got a fresh shipment in yesterday, actually."

"Really? I _love_ blueberries."

This time the smile he threw her was a bit brighter. It was _so_ captivating in fact, that Uo had to turn away to hide her burning cheeks. She rose to her feet and led the man to the fruit stand, dropping a carton of blueberries on top of his load of birdseed.

"Here, on the house," she had forced out, "for bumping into you and…stuff."

"Ah, no, I couldn't—" the man protested, trying to tip the newest addition to his grocery tower back into her hand. Uo held it in place, lest he drop everything again.

"Seriously, I'm trying to give you something, so just fricken' take it!"

"Yes, thank you."

That last time when he smiled, all traces of sadness were gone.

Uotoni sighed. She'd never forgive him for abandoning her—and after she'd paid for those blueberries out of her own pocket, too!

"Stupid…" she mumbled, but whether the insult was directed at herself or Kureno, she wasn't sure. She looked down at the dead bird, wondering what about it had triggered that memory. Perhaps it was because it looked so…helpless…just like that smile of his…just like the man himself.

Footsteps jerked her from thoughts on the bird and she gasped as she looked up and locked eyes with the last person she had expected to see. At first a smile spread across her face and her cheeks reddened at his presence, but both faded instantly as her eyes noticed the pain in his. He forced a smile for her, to tell her that he was alright, to lie for her happiness, even if it meant sacrificing his own. However, his unsteady feet ruined the attempt and he stumbled forward. The wince that followed betrayed his injury. Uo's heart froze as she lunged for him.

"_Kureno!!_"

He landed face first in the road—she had been too far away. He lay there motionless, hands fisted by his head, dark hair shielding distant eyes. Fear grasped her heart at the large stain on his back and a gasp escaped as it beat again—it had only missed one, but the moment had lasted forever. She collapsed to her knees by his side and rolled him onto her lap, trying to hold back the tears as she did. Kureno let out a groan, and this was too much for her—she could tell that he was dying…

"You stupid, clumsy, _fool!!" _she sobbed into his hair, "Why are you here!? Why aren't you in a hospital!?"

"I…regretted…not seeing you. I…_needed_ to see you…one…last time…"

Anger filled Uotoni, an anger so potent she didn't know what to do with it. But that was just it—there was no one to direct it toward. She pulled back from him, angry tears falling like rain onto his pale face.

"You could have saved yourself and continued living! You could've visited me then!!"

Kureno shook his head slowly and looked up at her with sad and distant eyes—no, not _at _her—_through _her.

"I am…beyond saving," he said. A tear escaped from the corner of his eye and trailed down his temple and into his hair. "I knew I was…and so, I had to…apologize…for waiting until now…"

He drew a ragged breath that made his body tremble in her arms. Uo didn't speak, didn't scream at him like she wanted to so desperately, to call him stupid for abandoning her and an idiot for choosing _her_ over his own life. She could do nothing but listen to his hopeless apology—she would _never_ forgive him for that.

"I know I told Tohru that there was…another girl who needed me, but…I'm afraid she has…_discharged_ me. I don't think…Akito needs me anymore…and now I'm wondering if…if I was ever _really _needed at all. You see, I…never loved her. I only ever…pitied her. And now I'm beginning to wonder if…maybe my sympathy has held the both of us back. Shigure told me, but…I didn't listen. To think that I've…_wasted_ my life by her side when I _should_ have been by yours…and in doing so, I…I left you all alone. I wish I had gotten the chance to…eat blueberries with you. That's why, I'm sorry…Uo-chan…"

Such an elaborate speech and she could barely hear his apology. Her name had been too soft to be called a whisper. Indeed, Uo had read it on his lips more than she had caught it with her ears. Though, the blood was pounding so loud in her head, it was a wonder she heard him at all. The knowledge that his voice was weakening and his eyes were fighting to stay open didn't help. Tears blurred her vision and a sob escaped as his eyes finally closed, that sad smile the last expression he'd ever make.

A dark chuckle cut through her grief, a machete through a wild jungle. She lifted her gaze to a pair of charcoal eyes—the very sight of them made her shiver. They were just so…empty, like a dark pit that ended in a bed of jagged stones.

"I knew he would betray me in the end, but I had no idea it would be this _literal_," the man said, his voice sucking the very warmth from the air. He laughed again, but the sound held no mirth. In fact, Uo felt suffocated by it, as if she were being swallowed by his darkness.

As she looked him over, it dawned on her that this _man_ was the 'Akito' Kureno had spoke of. Even _without_ the bloody knife in his—her hand, Uo would have known just from the way she spoke of Kureno, as if he had merely been a toy for her to play with.

"Stay away from us!!" she shrieked, clutching Kureno's still body to her bosom, "Just leave us alone!!"

"I merely came to collect what's mine."

"Akito! That's enough!!"

They both turned to the owner of the voice, a tall man in a white coat, as he ran toward them, his dark hair parted over his left eye. He stopped in front of Uo and knelt down to tend Kureno. Uo recognized him as the man who had shown up at the cultural festival, but she still didn't trust him, especially if he was in league with this…_Akito_. She held Kureno tighter to her chest, protecting him from further harm.

"It's alright, I'm a doctor," he told her calmly, and reluctantly she relaxed. She laid Kureno in her lap so that he could be treated, not caring that her work clothes were becoming soaked with his blood.

Akito seemed livid over the fact that Hatori was paying more attention to Kureno, but she kept this anger silent as the man checked the wounded one's pulse, opting instead to glare at the back of Hatori's head.

"It's faint," the doctor announced, getting up, "But he's alive. We need to get him to a hospital. Keep pressure on the wound until the ambulance arrives."

A fresh wave of tears cascaded down Uo's already sodden cheeks, washing away the despair and replacing it with hope—she had been sure he was dead. Her joy was interrupted, however, a few minutes after Hatori left by an angry outburst from Akito. It seemed she had been letting the hatred fill her to the brim and not until now had it reached its limit.

"Let him die! He's of no more use to me! I have no need for such disloyalty!!" Anger boiled in Uo's gut.

"How can you say that!? After he sacrificed his entire _life _to be with you!?"

"I had to _beg _him to stay!!" Akito shrieked, "If it wasn't for the curse, they would _all_ leave me!! _Me!! God!!_" Akito spat the word, jabbing a finger into her chest for emphasis. "I'm supposed to be _loved_!! I'm _special_!! _No one is supposed to leave me!!_"

"Isn't it time that you stopped believing in such childish notions?" Hatori asked. A curtain of feathers surrounded him, swirled around him, but he seemed unaffected by them. He was more concerned about Kureno and his guardian. "The ambulance is on its way—"

A tear rolled down the side of his face from his damaged eye as the feathers drifted to the cold tar, their charred color reminding Uo of soot. Hatori wiped at his cheek, his eyes wide as he stared down at the drop on his finger. He seemed…_surprised_ that it was there.

"Hatori!? _Hatori!?_" Akito cried, sinking to her knees, "Don't leave me!! Please, _I don't want to be alone!!_"

"You had better go," came Hatori's cold reply, his voice devoid of emotion, "The police will be here soon, I imagine."

Akito rose from her feet—teeth clenched, knees dirtied from the ground—and chucked the knife in her hand at Hatori.

"I _hate _you!!" she bellowed, the clang of the knife hitting asphalt drowning out the sound of her feet as she ran away.

It wasn't long until the ambulance and, as Hatori had predicted, the police arrived. They asked for a description of the assailant, but Hatori only shook his head.

"I didn't get a good look at his face."

Uo followed Kureno into the back of the ambulance, keeping a firm hold on his hand. She knew before the EMTs shook their heads that he was gone just by how cold it was.

She didn't remember much from the days following his death, apart from her grief and the constant knot in her chest. It felt like someone had thrust their hand in there and squeezed the happiness right out of her soul.

The thing she _did_ remember, though, were Hatori's strong arms around her and his gentle voice by her ear.

"I can erase your pain," he murmured, "If you want me to, I can make it so he never existed."

"No," she had replied, with the most strength she'd shown in…however long she'd been like this, "I _want _to remember him. I _want_ to remember that he loved me…that _someone _at least…loved me…"

Time passed. Just how much, she wasn't sure, but then again, it didn't really matter. She felt dead inside. Everything around her was cold and dark and distant…just like the snow that fell outside her window, covering the earth in its icy gloom.

Tohru came to visit—more than once, in fact. She cried a lot, though not as much as Uo had. _Her_ tears had dried up days ago, but still she cried. How that worked exactly, she didn't know and didn't care.

Hatori stayed by her. From dawn until dusk he was there, bringing her meals so she wouldn't starve, covering her with a blanket when she trembled in the cold.

And then one morning she opened her eyes to find the world just a little bit brighter, her thoughts just a bit clearer than they had been. It was like waking from a nightmare—she still felt the effects of the dream, but they were distant…almost unreachable.

Hatori set a tray of food next to her. She blinked, sweeping the room with confused eyes and realized that this was _his_ room. She looked back at him with a furrowed brow and he chuckled softly at the expression.

"Good morning," he greeted, but it seemed he was saying 'welcome back' instead.

"What day is it?" she asked.

"You've been here for almost two weeks."

Shock crossed her face. She tried to match the time she'd spent in her nightmare to this new information, but was unable to fit them together. She felt so…disorientated…_lost_.

"It…it feels like it's been months," she admitted in disbelief.

"Grief does that to a person." The way he replied made it sound like he'd experienced it firsthand.

A blanket of silence fell on them, and as it did, Uo studied the man kneeling next to her. He was staring out the window at the snow falling, a solemn look on his face, as if he was remembering a fond, but painful memory.

"When the snow melts, what does it become?" His sudden inquiry threw her.

"This is a trick question, isn't it?"she asked once she'd recovered. Hatori nodded.

"Someone once told me that when the snow melts, it becomes spring."

"Huh." Uo frowned down at her folded hands. "I'm waiting for summer."

The end!! I hope you all enjoyed my little oneshot! They didn't have enough Uo/Kureno in the series, so I had to make more! (Mwahaha! Dance, puppets, DANCE!!) er, right…ignore that….

So I think I did a good job putting Akito and Ha'ri in… At first, this was supposed to end w/ Kureno's last smile, but the scenario w/ Akito and Uo (and Ha'ri) was just to…angsty to pass up. And I freed Ha'ri! yay! _And_ I was able to create a new pairing that I absolutely love!! The two love rejects, together!! I _will_ be writing a sequel, so check it out! It's called _Waiting for Summer_ and this time it's a Uo/Ha'ri oneshot.


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